Author: Jeremy Moorhouse

  • Consolidated Biofuels sets the bar for biodiesel in Canada

    Consolidated Biofuels sets the bar for biodiesel in Canada

    A boutique producer in a big-fuel world

    In a facility in Surrey, B.C., Consolidated Biofuels is taking waste oils and greases collected from the Pacific Northwest and turning them into biodiesel. The technology is not new. Biodiesel moved into the mainstream years ago and is now produced at scale by major agribusinesses such as ADM, while multinationals such as Neste, Chevron and TotalEnergies produce competing renewable fuels. Against that backdrop, the surprise is not what Consolidated Biofuels makes. It is that a small B.C. producer continues to succeed.

    • “With our fuel you can get zero emissions today”
      Dan Treleaven
      CEO

    Innovation as survival strategy

    As Dan Treleaven and Graeme Pitches explained during my visit, Consolidated Biofuels’ competitive edge comes from constant innovation, diversification and a commitment to quality. The company is part of a broader group of businesses spanning biofuels, coatings, polymers and other specialty chemicals. Its roots trace back to Consolidated Coatings, founded by Treleaven in 1981, before expanding into biodiesel through Consolidated Biofuels in 2008 and later into polymers through Meadow Polymers in 2013. According to the company, that broader product base has helped it manage the ups and downs of the biodiesel market, where waste oil prices, credit values and fuel demand can shift quickly. It has also created opportunities for integration, including the use of glycerin, a key biodiesel by-product, in the group’s polymer business. That helps reduce costs, make better use of materials and lower the carbon intensity of the final fuel.

    Cleaner fuel, lower cost

    That matters because cleaner fuel now has a market value. Consolidated’s biodiesel is among the cleanest in Canada[1]. It is also currently significantly cheaper than diesel, despite costing more to produce. The difference comes from policy. British Columbia’s Low-Carbon Fuel Standard, first implemented in 2010, and Canada’s Clean Fuel Regulations, which began its first compliance period in July 2023, both reward fuels with lower lifecycle greenhouse gas intensities. The policy design creates a direct innovation signal: the cleaner the fuel, the more valuable it becomes. Because Consolidated sells into British Columbia, it can combine provincial and federal clean fuel credits, improving the economics of lower-carbon fuels and reducing the volume fuel suppliers need to meet compliance obligations.

    [1] Based on its BC LCFS carbon intensity scores.

    The Details

    Surrey

    Location

    2008

    Year commissioned

    Biodiesel

    Fuel

    11 mlpy

    Nameplate capacity

    90%

    Carbon intensity reduction compared to diesel

    25

    Employees

    Mining and shipping could be the next opportunity

    Consolidated is always on the look out for customers wanting to cut the carbon intensity of their fuel. Shipping is one. The sector remains overwhelmingly dependent on oil-based fuels, with biofuels supplying less than 0.5% of global international shipping energy demand in 2024. Today, marine biodiesel demand is still driven mostly by voluntary action, with some support from European regulation. But a proposed International Maritime Organization clean fuel standard for ships could create a more durable compliance market if adopted. Mining is another potential market: diesel-intensive operations in B.C. and Alberta face clean fuel obligations, and biodiesel can reduce on-site emissions without major equipment changes.

    Accessing these markets will not be easy. Consolidated will need to continue to compete for waste feedstocks, such as used oils and greases, which are traded internationally and increasingly in demand. For a boutique producer in a market shaped by global players, the path forward is the same as the one that kept it alive: innovate, diversify and make a fuel clean enough to compete.

  • From wastewater to warmth – Vancouver’s False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility

    From wastewater to warmth – Vancouver’s False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility

    Helping prove sewage heat recovery in North America

    Since the False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility (NEU) opened in 2010, sewage heat recovery has moved from a handful of global examples to a growing North American project pipeline, with seven systems now operating or under development Metro Vancouver and in cities including Toronto, Markham, and Denver. The NEU helped make these projects easier to understand, finance and replicate by showing that wastewater heat recovery could work at district scale. This was by design. As Derek Pope, Associate Director, explained to me, the facility plays another role as “a learning hub to enable others to make their own investments in low-emissions energy”.

    • “A learning hub to help enable others make their own investments in low-emissions energy and sewer waste water recovery”
      Derek Pope
      Associate Director

    From Olympic showcase to urban heating model

    Vancouver’s False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility was first built to provide low-emission heat to the Olympic Village, part of the city’s effort to host the world’s most sustainable Olympic Games. The project received an innovation grant and loan to help fund the initial capital costs. It now provides low-emissions heat for near 50 buildings, while offering other cities a working example of both the opportunity and the practical challenges.

    Making clean heat easier for buildings

    By centralizing heating equipment at the False Creek Energy Centre, the facility also simplifies buildings. New buildings do not need their own large on-site heating systems; each one connects to the NEU through a pair of compact heat exchangers. For a 10- to 15-storey building, each heat exchanger can be about the size of a large suitcase. Less equipment on site can also mean lower maintenance needs, simpler operations and an easier path for building retrofits.

    To generate that heat, the centralized facility uses heat pumps to draw heat from wastewater at roughly 20°C and upgrades it to produce hot water around 70°C. That hot water is then pumped to buildings for space heating and domestic hot water. Natural gas boilers at the centralized plant provide peaking and backup when needed, helping ensure reliable service through the year. 

    The Details

    Vancouver

    Location

    2024

    Capacity expansion

    9.6 MW

    Heat recovery capacity

    47

    Buildings connected

    70%

    Renewable heat share

    10,000

    Residents served

    The next challenge is finding more heat

    Planned development within the NEU service area could see the floor area served by the NEU nearly triple at full buildout.  To meet the growing energy demand as well as support a transition to 100% renewable energy, additional energy sources will need to be added over time. The 2024 expansion of the sewage heat recovery system, which added 6.6 MW of capacity, is a great start but work is already underway to map out the utilities next investments in low carbon energy.  Studies have begun to better understand the local waste heat resources which include data centres, industrial waste heat, and other sewer lines. Heat storage, electric boilers and bioenergy are also being assessed to expand supply.

    The False Creek NEU shows what municipally owned low-carbon utility infrastructure can achieve when paired with innovation and operational excellence.  The NEU remains a useful model because it is still evolving. The next phase is not just about adding capacity, but about showing how cities can identify, connect and manage more sources of low-emissions heat.